The Pallikaranai police who had launched a massive hunt to trace the identity of a woman whose dismembered body parts were found in the dumpyard there, have finally solved the case.

The severed hand and two legs found in a gunny bag belong to 35-year-old Sandhya, a mother of two children, police said.

Sandhya’s husband Balakrishnan, whom she had been married to for 17 years, suspected that she was having an affair and murdered her in a fit of rage. Balakrishnan was a producer and assistant director.

Sandhya worked as a junior artiste in Tamil films. She had a love marriage with Balakrishnan. He had produced a movie in 2010 which failed at the box-office. The couple had serious difference of opinion between them and had already filed for divorce. He murdered her, severed her body parts and left them in various places to confuse the police, sources said.

Reports suggest that the police found similar gunny bags in Balakrishnan’s residence in Jafferkhanpet. The police reportedly also possess CCTV footage in connection to the case. They are now interrogating Balakrishnan in a secret location and trying to find out where he dumped other body parts of the victim.

On 21 January, police found a right hand severed from the shoulder and two legs from under the knees at the dumpyard. Police concluded that they were the limbs of a woman since the severed hand had a bangle. A dragon and Siva Parvathi image were tattooed on the hand.

Her hand and legs were first found by the staff of the Chennai corporation who were levelling waste at the Pallikaranai dumpyard. The police were then informed, leading to a two week investigation.